SMOF News, volume 2, issue 14
A con suddenly cancelled, news from Smofcon, and news in brief.
Super Squad Con Cancelled At Last Minute
Super Squad Con was a convention for fans of the 2018-2022 TV show Legacies. Scheduled for the Sheraton Atlanta last weekend, it was abruptly moved and then cancelled at the last minute. Atlanta News First has the story:
“We were going to register because registration was at 6 p.m., but they pushed it back to 7 p.m., and then we were supposed to do karaoke and they switched everything to the morning and then told us they were changing venues because the hotel is disgusting and dirty which is totally untrue. It was so clean. They just screwed up.”
Fans said the organizer, Goldrush Events, moved the convention to another venue at the last minute. Hotel management told Atlanta News First that Goldrush did not stick to the contract and make payment to the hotel.
The new venue was a dance studio, which told ANF that it hadn’t been paid in full either.
The stars and the fans did get to meet briefly at the dance studio, as shown in this video on YouTube. Both the video and the ANF story say that fans have been promised refunds.
GoldRush Events, the company behind Super Squad Con, appears to have been in trouble for some time. Its Twitter account has been silent since the end of October except for one reply, and its Facebook presence ends with a post on August 16 announcing the cancellation of another event.
Although both accounts claim that GoldRush is based in Santa Monica, California, there appears to be no business entity by that name registered in California. A phone number on its Facebook profile has an area code for New York, but there is no New York business entity by that name either.
News From Smofcon
Site Selection
Last week’s issue noted three bids to hold next year’s Smofcon, the largest of the con-running conventions. The New York/New Jersey bid was withdrawn on December 1.
At Smofcon 38 this past weekend in Montréal, physical and virtual attendees voted 37-23 to award next year’s convention to Providence, Rhode Island. It will be held December 1-3; initial membership rates are $50 for physical attendance, $35 hybrid, $30 con suite only. A full website is on its way, but it is possible to register now by filling out this Google form and paying with PayPal or mailed check.
Smofcon 38 was originally scheduled for 2020, and later rescheduled to 2022. Smofcon 39 was held as planned in 2021, so next year’s will be Smofcon 40.
Worldcon and NASFiC Updates
Pemmi-Con, the 15th North American Science Fiction Convention (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, July 20-23) is busily filling out its staff. Volunteers are needed in lots of areas but it could particularly use a Hospitality head.
Chengdu Worldcon (Chengdu, China, August 16-20) is still working on setting up the necessary entity to allow Western fans to purchase memberships. Everyone who participated in the 2021 vote to select the 2023 site is already an attending member.
Chengdu’s funding will primarily come from sponsorships, and some plans will depend on how much sponsorship money comes in. The first progress report will be published as soon as the hotel contract is finalized.
Hugo nominations should open by the end of January.
Glasgow 2024 (Glasgow, UK, August 8-12, 2024), the 82nd Worldcon, says its first progress report is scheduled for January 22nd.
The Buffalo in 2024 NASFiC bid announced that it was bidding to use the Buffalo Convention Center August 16-20, 2024, to avoid nearby conventions which are held in July. However, after pushback about being so close to the Worldcon (and possibly the same weekend as the 2024 Eurocon, although the Eurocon’s website does not include dates yet), it sent out an announcement that it would explore other options for dates.
One new Worldcon bid was announced, for Chicago in 2032. No venue has been decided on yet.
In Brief
A GoFundMe is in progress for a vendor who suffered a medical emergency during loadout at Anime NYC. More at Anime News Network.
GenghisCon 2023 (Wembley, Australia, January 20-23) has announced that its theme will be “Deeper Waters”.
Event Calendar
Weekend of December 9-11
Aetnacon 2022/Italcon 2022 (Italian national sf convention), Catania, Italy
Cosplay Expo, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
FURUM 2022: Con of the Lost (anthropomorphic), Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
Cayden’s Ascension 4722 (Pathfinder and Starfinder RPGs), online
28 Manga Barcelona (anime), Barcelona, Spain
Kuri 2022 (anime), San José, Costa Rica
Yama-Con 2022 (anime), Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, USA
Heroes Assemble 2 (media), Richmond, Virginia, USA
Ocean City Comic Con, Ocean City, Maryland, USA
Maui Comic Con, Wailuku, Hawaii, USA
Raptor Con (media), Evansville, Indiana, USA
RADP 27 (Disney theme parks), Walt Disney World, Florida, USA
Game of Thrones Official Fan Convention, Los Angeles, California, USA
Weekend of December 16-18
Furcan 2022: Viva la Feria (anthropomorphic), Puebla, Mexico
TwinConRPG (gaming), London, UK
Sac Gamers Expo (video games), Sacramento, California, USA
Holiday Matsuri (anime), Orlando, Florida, USA
Con+Alt+Delete (anime), Rosemont, Illinois, USA
Nashville Anime Day, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA
Anime Winter Festa 2022, Kingston, Jamaica
Comic Fiesta, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Supernatural Official Convention, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Weekend of December 23-25
EOY J-Culture Festival 2022 (anime), Singapore
Weekend of December 30-January 1
Furvester 4: Mission to Mars (anthropomorphic), Reutlingen, Germany
Painted Desert Fur Con: The Island: Pirates! (anthropomorphic), Phoenix, Arizona, USA
New Year’s Furry Ball, Newark, Delaware, USA
OKiCon (anime), Norman, Oklahoma, USA
Comic Market 101 (amateur comics), Tokyo, Japan
Weekend of January 6-8
Shadowcon (relaxacon), Memphis, Tennessee, USA
GAFilk 2023 (music), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Anthro Northwest 5 (anthropomorphic), Seattle, Washington, USA
CanthroFur (anthropomorphic), Auvergne, France
Spartacon XXXII (gaming), DeWitt, Michigan, USA
Super MAGFest (gaming/videogame music), National Harbor, Maryland, USA
OrcaCon 2023 (gaming), Bellevue, Washington, USA
Animé Los Angeles 18, Long Beach, California, USA
SacAnime, Sacramento, California, USA
Columbia Anime & Video Game Expo, Columbia, South Carolina, USA
Taiyou Con (anime), Mesa, Arizona, USA
Anime-ZAP!, East Peoria, Illinois, USA
Fan Expo New Orleans (media), New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
St. Pete Comic Con 2023, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA
Coda
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